From Fire To Friendship - Revised!
by jumbojet777
Summary: They say that trauma can both split apart and unite. The selfless actions of one man to save a Typhlosion trapped in a burning building may unite them more than either ever expected. NOW UPDATED AND CLEANED UP
1. Friday Night Gone Wrong

Summary: They say that trauma can both split apart and unite. The selfless actions of one man to save a Typhlosion trapped in a burning building may unite them more than either ever expected.

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Note: As always, apart from OCs, I don't own any of the places or creatures described in this story. They are all property of Game Freak, Nintendo, or other companies.

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JJ: Hello everyone! It's your friendly neighborhood JJ here! I'm back from a LONG hiatus to bring you some new words!

Amber: Is this the story with me in it?

JJ: Yeah! I always loved it…

Amber: *Smacks JJ* You liar! This story already exists! It isn't new.

JJ: Well… I guess it isn't… But it's more of a slight reimagining and touch-up of the original!

Amber: You! You give these people some new material or i'll smack ya again!

JJ: I guess that's my cue to leave, enjoy the story folks, and as always: Favorite, Review, ect.! *Runs away*

Amber: YOU CAN'T HIDE JJ!

* * *

Wind through the roads. Another normal night in Goldenrod City. The flickers of light dance through the eyes of its denizens as they mindlessly shuffle down the well-worn streets. People shout, cars rush by, and hundreds of busy bodies, all going their separate ways and all oblivious to each other, fills my view. I always found a bit of comfort in the chaos of a Friday night downtown. It seemed like a form of privacy in plain view, a box where I could see everyone, but they couldn't look at me. In a way, it was like the high skyscrapers that loomed above me even now. Like their reflective glass windows that only rewarded one side with privacy.

All my daydreaming rewarded me was a very angry businessman and a bruised nose as the crowd unknowingly came to a halt. I sighed, shifting my weight forward to peek above the crowd. Tossing my dirty blond hair back and surveying the intersection in front of me, the red light in front was the cause of the human pileup.

I chuckled, realizing my friends would have to wait a bit longer for me to arrive at our usual friday night haunt. Relaxing after a hard weeks work at Sylph Co. with a couple of cold beers and good friends at Mickey Finn's Pub and Brewery and a night of TV with my Pokémon at home was some great medicine and I was a sick, sick man. Hopefully the light would turn because the quicker I could get a cold pint in my hand, the quicker I could start melting the work stress away.

I slipped through the crowd, hoping to save a few seconds waiting for people to start moving again. Upon arriving towards the front of the mass on the street curb, my ears were treated to the shrill screech of a fire truck, several cop cars, and an ambulance as they raced past the intersection.

"Where's the fire?" I softly joked to myself, chuckling.

The lights changed, and the masses began to move across the streets. I broke out of the herd and walked into the local pub. I saw my friends already seated at a small table and waved at them. Their faces glued to a TV in the corner of the room, they didn't even notice me. I ignored it and walked up to the bar to get a beer. With bottle in tow, I slipped between tables and over to my waiting comrades. I jokingly punched one on the shoulder.

"What's up guys, you didn't even acknowledge me when I walked in!" chuckling softly. Only one of them responded by slowly pointing towards the TV. "What is it? Did the Goldenrod Galvantulas finally win the Kalos National Soccer Cup?"I looked up at the screen and a news woman was covering some kind of "breaking news."

"We're live with News Chopper 7, hovering over the site of the fire." She exclaimed in a serious tone before the camera cut to the view from the chopper. A view of my apartment on fire.

The smile instantly vanished from my face. _Oh no..._ I dropped my beer and ran out of the bar. I sprinted down the street like a man chased by a herd of Tauros. Dodging a man with a bushel of apples, vaulting over alleyway fences and slipping between buildings, I raced closer and closer to my apartment block. I climbed one last fence and ended up on the end of my street.

Looking down, I could clearly see that my block in addition to 3 others were engulfed in a blazing inferno. I followed the flow of people, trickling in to see what all the commotion was about. I pushed my way through the slowly moving crowd, trying to get to the front so I could get some answers.

After a vicious battle with the massive blob of observers, I made my way to the barricades holding the public back from the building. Three fire trucks had pulled up, but none of them were spraying water all over the buildings. I waved my hands like a maniac, trying to get one of the firefighters attentions so that I could ask him if they had gone in the recover any pokeballs still trapped in there.

I got no purchase on the firemen, so I turned around and began asking the public around me. My answers were a jumbled mess of "I don't know," "I just got here," "Maybe," and complete obliviousness.

Fed up, I vaulted the barricade and rushed over to the fire engine to get some help. I rounded the front of the truck and ran head first into one of the fire fighters. We both recoiled and I was thrown to the ground. He helped me up and then began to push me back towards the barriers. "Back you go buddy, it's not safe up here."

"Please, I need some answers!" I exclaimed frantically while trying to get him to stop moving me.

"Get behind the barricade and maybe I'll answer them." He said in a commanding, bellowing tone. I cooperated and soon found myself back where I had begun. "Now, what is it?" He said.

"Why aren't you guys putting out this fire! It's going to demolish this building!" I said.

"For that exact reason," the fireman explained. "It's too dangerous to go in there with the building in such a condition. The whole damn thing could collapse at any moment."

"Well, have you evacuated everyone in there?" I asked.

"Yes, every person living in that building has been accounted for." He answered.

"What about the Pokémon?" I wondered.

"What about them?" He snobishly asked back.

"Well… have you evacuated all of them as well?" I asked, starting to get annoyed with the fireman's tone

"Why would I? Those damn animals can fend for themselves, I'm not putting my men in harms way so that some little kid's pet bidoof can get out." He said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a fire crew to pack up and a dangerous building to collapse."

I just stared at him completely emotionless. _He's going to collapse the building… He's going to kill all my pokemon… I can't let that happen!_

I took one look at the chief who had turned away from me to talk on his walkie-talkie and spotted the rest of the emergency crew packing up their gear and preparing to collapse the building to put out the fire. I knew then what I had to do. I couldn't let my team die.

Taking two steps and vaulting over the barricade, I dashed into the house. The yelling of several firemen and spectators couldn't deter me now as I crashed through the front door and into the burning house.

As I hit the ground, the wall beams above the now shattered door crashed down where an opening once stood. Taking one look back to assure I was well and truly trapped, I pressed on through the glowing hellscape that awaited me. I pulled my cotton zip-up jacket off and wrapped it around my mouth as a makeshift gas mask to keep out the smoke and pressed on through the fiery abode. The charred remains of furniture and belongings were no match for my trusty work boots, but the flaming chunks of house singed me more than once. On my way through the first level, searching for stairs, I had to dodge pieces of flaming drywall, curtains, or random belongings that would have burned me on their way to the ground.

Finally, I made my way to the staircase. Thankfully they were at the back of the complex and were made of cinderblocks and steel. As I climbed the relatively safe steps up to my third floor apartment, I wondered what awaited me. I sincerely hoped that the balls hadn't burnt up or had something crush them. I don't know what I would do if my pokemon friends had been killed due to some idiot's carelessness.

My thinking came to a sharp end as a crack sounded above my head. One of the I-beams supporting the stairs had failed due to the heat and a large piece of metal came crashing down, narrowly missing my head, but cutting a deep gash in my left arm and leg as it fell. I bit back the tears and pain, ripping off the sleeve of my jacket to wrap my shredded limbs in. The world began to spin as a combination of blood-loss, shock, and pain set in. I shook it off, convincing my body to keep going, as passing out here would be a death warrant.

I carried on, kicking down the burnt husks of doors with my good leg. Taking a right at an intersection in the hallway, I opened my mostly intact door and hobbled into my slightly burning room. Getting down on all fours, I crawled through the living room toward the master suite in the back. I pushed open the door and reached around the corner for my belt with pokeballs in tow. Clipping it over my work belt, I crawled back outside the apartment and started to make my way back to the staircase. However, down the hall opposite to my room, I saw a mound. It certainly didn't look like a pile of ash or embers, so I rushed forward to see if it was some other pokémon who had gotten trapped.

Upon getting closer, this pokémon, a typhlosion by the looks of it, had escaped fairly unscathed due to its fire-proof fur and place slightly away from the bulk of the flames. I tapped its shoulder, trying to wake it up, but it didn't move. Fearing the worst, I put my fingers on its neck. The weak _thum-bump_ that feebly made it to my fingers confirmed it was alive, but only just. Using a nearby beam and a brick to make a makeshift lever to compensate for my torn up limbs, I rolled the typhlosion over on to its back to see what might be wrong and to get a better grip to pick it up or drag it out. As I looked over its body, I couldn't find out anything more than this it was actually a her.

Befuddled, I got down on my knees and attempted to wake her up again, but she didn't even stir. Realizing that the only way we could get out was by carrying her, I pulled her arm over my shoulder and rolled her stomach on to my back. Lightly gripping her leg with my mangled left arm, I stood up and began to carry her back towards the staircase.

I slowly made it down the stairs to the second floor and began on the first when another creek shot through the staircase. Before I had time to think, a second beam had failed, and another piece of metal was heading for me, the only difference being where it would hit. Conking me on the head, stars exploded in my vision. I dropped the typhlosion and hit the ground like a sack of potatoes, completely out cold.


	2. Breakout!

**Chapter 2: Breakout!**

* * *

The mood of the crowd had gone from shocked to incredibly tense as groans and creaks flooded from the burning building. The firefighters had dropped their tools and immediately conversed on what their next course of action would be. A few proposed using a ladder to get into the building through a second story window, but that was quickly shot down as the building's condition continued to deteriorate. The fire chief was the first to explain that there was nothing they could do and, while some contended that idea, they all slowly realized that any attempts at help would only put more people in danger.

A much more audible groan and then a snap resounded throughout the block as an unknown portion of the apartment structure gave in to the inferno. All eyes were on the orange ball of fire and smoke as the spectators held their breaths, hoping and praying that whoever had run in would come out unscathed.

"Sir, we need to move these people back. This building could give way at any point." a firefighter explained to the fire chief.

"Move them back, and get the ambulance ready. I don't know if this kid will get out, but if he can, I'd like to not have a dying body on my hands."

"Yes sir."

The firefighter spread the word to his colleagues and they began to move the crowd backwards from the building. Just as they got the people to a safe distance, another, much louder, snap echoed forth from the building and the left side began to sag downwards. Several women screamed and a few other people ran from the site as half the building collapsed.

* * *

_Ugh... where am I? What's with all this smoke? and... who is this?_

Thoughts flew rapidly through my brain as I came to. _Ok, looks like I'm still in the same building. I think this is the staircase, but... why do I feel so warm, how'd I get on the stairs, and what's that sound?_ I quickly realized what that crackling whoosh was, having become accustomed to it all my life: fire. _So that solves the warmth problem... _

I slowly got up, still stiff from my unknown amount of comatose state. Looking around, I was on the staircase, surrounded by debris and next to me was... a human? I got down on all fours to check him out. He had gashes up and down his left side and was clearly unconscious. _Maybe he's why I'm on these stairs. But why is he unconscious?_ I sat there befuddled as to the current situation.

My pondering was quickly cut off as the whole building shook and cracked. _Oh man, this building is coming down!_ I pushed aside the human's significance and scooped him up as I limped down the stairs. It was hard to descend the stairs due to his weight and the poor condition of myself, but I made it down without an issue.

I got to the bottom of the staircase and pushed on through the hallway of the apartment block. Large pieces of the support had fallen in the way so I had to either put down the human to move them, or I simply blast them out of the way with a flamethrower. _Guess I'm fighting fire with fire_ I silently joked to myself, _I just hope I can get out of here before the fire fights back_

* * *

The few remaining spectators and the fire crew held their breaths as the seconds ticked by. Minutes passed, and still no sign of the mysterious hero. Many began to lose hope and the people trickled away. Even the fire crew began to expect that the inevitable had happened and prepared to blast away the fire with hoses, even if it'd collapse the building. The hoses were attached and pressure had built up. The men took their places to destroy the fire when a knock on the wood in front of the collapsed door resounded across the now quiet block. The fire crew dropped their supplies and waited tentatively.A still fell upon the block, only the sound of the crackling inferno being heard.

Another knock sounded on the compromised timber, followed by an even louder knock. Suddenly, the timbers exploded outward, followed by a dark blue furry ball. The building, now devoid of its last support, collapsed in on itself, snuffing out all but the smallest of flames. However, no fireman was concerned with the building in front of them anymore as the mystery man and a typhlosion lie in front of them, both completely unconscious.

"Medics! Get these two to the hospital right away!" the fire chief yelled to the ambulance paramedics. They quickly brought out two stretchers and lifted the crumpled, damaged bodies on to them. In two swift movements, the stretchers were in the back of the ambulance and on their way to the hospital.

* * *

The ambulance pulled into Our Lady of Sinnoh hospital and quickly towards the emergency drop off. A nurse and a doctor rushed out to receive them.

"What's the situation here?" The doctor asked.

"We've got a young man here with several severe lacerations down his left arm and leg. Along with that, he has extreme signs of blunt force trauma to the head as well as several first and second degree burns along his neck and back." one of the paramedics explained

"What about the pokemon? What's its condition?" the nurse asked.

The other paramedic explained, "Well she's a different story. Her fire-retardant fur saved her from any burns, but she does have some signs of blunt trauma to the back, though it's not as severe as with the man. She also has a torn right bicep and several broken fingers. There is one other thing though."

"Oh? What else?"

"Well, on the way here, she... she was murmuring about it not being her fault or something. When we tried to comfort her, she flailed around until we removed our hands. Though while she was whipping about, we saw that she has several long scars and some cuts along her body."

"Do you think she got them in the fire?" the nurse questioned.

"Not all of them. Some were fresh, but most were scabbed over." the paramedic explained.

"Hmm... well we'll keep an eye on that too," the nurse assured as more hospital personnel rushed out to push the two fire victims in.

* * *

My eyes slowly opened, painful lights bombarded my pupils as they fought to adjust to the brightness above me. All around me, was awash with white, clean cloth and chrome. I could almost see a pair of pearly gates in front of me. _I... I must be dead, _I thought, only seeing bright light and remembering my failed rescue attempt.

As the harshness of the light faded, I realized that the bright lights of the heavens were just fluorescent tubes. Similarly the white cloth was my bedspread and those gates were nothing but the decorative steel bars at the end of my bed. Looking around, I saw that I was in a hospital. _Ok, I survived and I'm in a hospital. But how'd I get here?_ My questions only got bigger when I looked over and saw the typhlosion I had tried to save asleep in a bed next to mine.

I tried to get up and get a better look around, but immediately felt a cracking sensation arc through my back like a lightning bolt. Gasping in pain, I threw my body back into the comfort of my bed and waited for the prickling, hot sensation to recede. After what seemed like hours, the pain went away and I attempted to sit up again. The pain, once again, raced through my back and caused me to grit my teeth in pain, but it wasn't as bad as the first time, and I fought through the agony to stay up.

I tried to swing my left leg around to get up, but found that, not only was it covered in layers of bandages, but it was secure in a sling. The same was done to my left arm and it only took me one attempt to figure out how painful it would be to actually get them out of their prisons, much less try to walk around.

With my new height advantage, I was able to survey the room. About the size of an average room, it certainly wasn't all that it definitely looked like the 90s had thrown up all over the decor. Everything from the floral wallpaper to the beige faded telephone to the tiny tube TV explained that the hospital board certainly wasn't putting money into decorating their rooms. Thankfully this room had a window and, by the looks of the sun flooding in from outside, it was either morning or evening. One quick look at the clock on the wall confirmed that it was the latter.

Bored of the lame room, I turned my attention to myself. Apart from the bandages on my arm and leg, I could feel more bandages wrapping around my shoulders and upper back, and saw the IV needle deep within my right arm. Reaching up with my hands to check the back of my head, I could tell that I had a gauze pad wrapped on the back of my head.

Looking over at my room-mate, I could clearly see she had it slightly better. Similarly situated in a typical hospital bed, she had a cast on her right arm and hand and an IV in her left arm and only a few small bandages in certain spots.

I tried to focus back to the fire, but I could only remember getting floored by that falling brick and my vision fading out. After that, only vague memories of sirens seemed to pop up. I turned my head to the sleeping typhlosion, wondering how we both got out alive. _Maybe the fire men charged in to save me after I ran in... no, that doesn't make sense, the fire chief wouldn't do that. _I shook my head, contemplating. _I could have woken her up when I dropped her. Maybe... I'll just ask her when she wakes up._ I resolved.

Laying back down, I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

My eyes shot open as I sprang up from the bed I was in. All I remembered was blasting through that door with a mega punch before blacking out. It appears I had gotten out relatively unscathed. My attention was then drawn to the lump of plaster weighing down my right arm. _Maybe not as unscathed as I thought_. I looked around at the room I was in. Outside, several humans rushed around, some followed by pokemon. By the looks of their clothing, and the numerous chansey and blissey that followed them, I assumed this was a hospital or pokemon center of some sort. Looking out the window, it was completely dark and a quick look at the human timepiece said it was nearly eleven at night.

_I wonder if that human is alright?_ My question was answered as I gazed further over to see his form lying motionless on the bed next to me, chest steadily rising and falling. Breathing a sigh of relief, I began to wonder, _I still don't know how I got on those stairs, but maybe that human knows. He certainly would have been close enough to see me get there._

I sat, contemplating until it hit me. _Duh! He must have tried to save me! That's why he was unconscious on those steps with so much debris around. He must have been knocked out by something while trying to get me out._

Looking over at my now-realized hero, I felt a sort of attachment to this unknown savior. No one had ever done something so sacrificial, so selfless, and so _caring_ to me in my life.

_ I have to know the truth, but it won't do any good asking a sleeping body. I guess I'll have to change that..._

* * *

I woke up to a pressure on my stomach. Opening my eyes, i saw the typhlosion I had saved, sitting on my stomach and staring at me.

"Hello, glad to see you're doing so well" I managed to get out despite the hundred-somewhat pound weight on my belly. She looked frustrated for second, like she was trying to figure something out. After a second or two, she looked up.

"Typh typhlo" she said, giving me a thumbs up with her paw. I gasped and then looked around for my earpiece. After a few seconds of searching, I found it at my bedside, among my cellphone, wallet, and everything else that was in my pockets.

Clipping it on my ear, I powered it up. Thankfully it hadn't been damaged in the fire. I heard a tone, followed by the gentile whirl of its operation. "What did you say girl?"

"I said, thanks for helping me ou... oh who am I kidding, it's no use reiterating this to you, it'd be like trying to talk to a daffodil." She said. Her voice had a definite feminine twang with a hint of sass in it. Yet, there was something else in it. I couldn't put my finger on what exactly it was.

I tapped my ear, chuckling "Trust me, I'm no daffodil."

Her eyes widened. "You can understand me? I've heard of this happening, but only in psychic types or pokemon that have been with their trainers for years! Are you a..."

I cut her off by putting my finger on her lips, "no, trust me, I'm no psychic. It's this little device in my ear. It picks up pokechat and translates it into good, old-fashion english."

"That's so cool" she said softly. "Well since you can understand me, I just want to say how thankful I am for what you did."

"But I failed!" I blurted out, not checking my volume. "I got knocked out cold by a falling brick and someone else saved us. I'm sorry, but I'm not your savior."

"Oh?" She said, putting on a mock serious face "Well I guess you're not the knight in shining armor that I made you out to be. Unless your actions actually saved both of us."

"Both of us?" I said skeptically.

"Yeah, both of us. See, I woke up when you dropped me. Kind of a rude awakening, but one I'm thankful for anyway. I tossed you over my shoulder and carried you out."

"You were the one who got us both out?" I said surprised.

"Yep, so you owe me big time for that." She said, laughing.

My tone softened at the newfound knowledge of what this typhlosion had done for me. "Well, I know it doesn't mean much now, but... thank you for not leaving me behind." Her face softened as well and she leaned in for a hug. I blushed slightly as I embraced her warm, furry body. She leaned in and whispered in my ear.

"I would never leave anyone behind who would risk himself for me." She broke away the hug and leaned back, looking into my eyes with her bright ruby pools. "By the way, what is my knight's name? I can't just keep calling you knight forever."

"Oh, um... I'm Connor." I explained, "pleased to meet you..." I paused, holding out my hand.

"I'm Amber," she said grabbing my hand, "the pleasure is all mine."

"That's a lovely name." I said, smiling. "Well Amber, as you can see, it's quite late and I'm pooped from all that heroic business. We'll talk more tomorrow, but for now, a hero's got to get his rest" I said, chuckling.

She laughed back and agreed, getting off my now deflated stomach and walking over to her bed. I turned the lights off and closed my eyes. _Now there's a pokemon I can get used to. _I thought, smiling inwardly at the new friend I had made before drifting off into a deep sleep.

* * *

I woke up a few hours later to a dark, silent hospital room. Nothing but the whirl of the industrial air conditioning and the rustling of sheets could be heard. I closed my eyes just as a furry form slipped underneath my covers. The coarse fur against my arm confirmed the identity of my midnight visitor. I didn't know why she had slipped in, but her warmth was welcomed in my frigidly cold bed.

I started to drift back off to sleep, already much warmer than only a few seconds ago. _Yep, I could definitely get used to this._


	3. A Twisted Mess of Flames

**Chapter 3: A Twisted Mess of Flames**

* * *

The full diagnosis of Amber and I had us locked up in the hospital for next few weeks as both of us had several issues that needed to be observed frequently. When the Nurse Joy came around the next day to see me, she asked if Amber was my pokemon. I politely said no and when I was further inquired about her owner, I said I didn't know who her owner was. Then she asked me about the events that happened in the fire so that she could better treat us. After recounting everything from the two failed beams to finding Amber, the nurse looked less than satisfied. "Is something wrong?" I asked her.

"No, no, no. Well, actually, did you notice the scars on Amber's back?"

"Scars? Not really," I replied.

"Hmm, well if you can, try to coax out a background for those. We may need to know for... erm... some treatment purposes," the nurse unconvincingly stammered out.

"Uhm, ok" I agreed, gazing over to Amber's sleeping form and noting a few light scars poking through the blue fur. The nurse thanked me for my participation and then left our room.

* * *

Days passed by, and Amber continued to slip into my bed at night. At some point between one and two, I would awake to her coarse fur rubbing against my arms. Yet, every morning I would find her either already up or laying down in her own bed. I never really asked her why she slipped in at night and just chocked it up to a little post-trauma insomnia.

Six days after we were admitted, we were playing a little game of Jenga on the table in between our beds. I figured that enough time had passed to start talking about the fire and those scars the Nurse Joy had pointed out. "So I pull out this stick and... hah! Your move now Amber. Bet you can't get any more out."

Her face contorted in concentration, she began to edge a brick out of the stack. The block had almost come loose when the tower teetered and fell into a heap of wood. "Hey, not fair, you have those thin, human fingers. All I have are these thick, blunt claws," she teasingly said.

Picking up the heap of blocks, I responded, "well, you win some, you lose some. Speaking of collapsing buildings, I had a few questions about the fire."

She flinched slightly at the sound of the word fire, but quickly covered it up in a smile. "Ok, what questions do you have?"

"Well, I was wondering if you knew what caused the fire?" I asked her.

She once again flinched, this time much more noticeably. She placed a claw on her chin, scratching it and replied "Well, I heard that it was an oil fire on the second floor or something."

"Hmm..." I replied, discontent with her answer. "Do you have a master by chance?"

"No... well, I mean, I used to, but he let me go a year or two ago." she responded

"Ah..." I said. "Well, how'd you end up passed out in the hallway?"

"Oh, I... uhm... I had actually just been battling a Luxray in the alley behind the block. It took a lot out of me so I went inside and kind of passed out in the hallway." She replied, reaching a paw up to scratch the back of her neck.

Unfortunately for her, there's only so many times you can hear people spout over exaggerations and flat lies in life before you start to pick up on the body language and little fluctuations in their voice. The only thing I wondered was why she lied in the first place? There must have been more to this story, but I decided to leave it for another day.

"So I saw a few of those scars on your back and arms. Pretty wicked battle wounds eh?" I said, trying to start a discussion to quench my curiosity with those scars.

"Oh, yeah, I got in some pretty bad fights with other pokemon."

"Ah, well, try not to get in any future tussles. Don't want to maim that pretty face," I replied, smiling.

She grabbed her bottom eyelids and pulled them down, simultaneously sticking out her tongue. "You mean this pretty face?" she said. I laughed at her silly face and threw a pillow lightheartedly at her.

"Oh yeah, I just _love_ that face. Probably gets all the boys right?" I joked back at her as we both laughed. Looking over at the clock, I saw that our game had lasted a lot longer than I thought as it was nearly eleven P.M. "We should get some shuteye. Tomorrow's another big day of sitting on our asses doing nothing," I said falling back into the comfort of a down pillow I had sent up to me.

"Yeah, let's get to bed," Amber agreed as she flopped backwards into her own bed. "I've meant to ask you though, why'd you save me?"

"Well I couldn't just leave you." I responded.

"But, weren't you afraid for your own life?" she replied.

"Well of course, but the whole reason I went into the building was to save my pokemon. I figured if I was saving my pokemon, I had better save other peoples as well." I explained.

"Ah…" she sighed.

I leaned over and told her, "I'll introduce you when we're out of this hospital!" I leaned back over closed my eyes. "Maybe you can be a part of that team if you want," I asked, but upon looking over, the furry lug had already fallen asleep.

_Heh, I guess I'll pop the question tomorrow…_

* * *

_1:37 P.M., right on time as usual, _I thought as I felt the, now familiar, form of Amber slip in between my arms. I started to close my eyes after a few minutes, but stopped as I heard moaning from beside me. Opening them up a crack, I saw Amber's mouth moving as she let out a constant stream of nearly silent moans. She rolled over, and then rolled over again. The moaning got louder, and I could begin to make out some words.

"I … but ... don't … hurt … why … " she murmured, continuing to fidget all over. I thought about calming her or waking her up, but decided against it as I didn't want her to lose her perception of me not knowing she slipped in each night.

The murmuring and tossing continued and began to get louder and more violent. She moved her arm up and almost hit me straight in the nose but thankfully stopped within only a few inches. "Don't … like … don't … be … slave … can't … me." I couldn't piece together what she was moaning about, but from the sound of the word slave, it might have been a nightmare. I continued to just lie there listening to her moaning, trying to hear more of the words in between.

Finally, she got loud enough to the point where I could fully hear her sentences. "Don't hit me again. I don't want to be with you. All you do is abuse me. Leave me alone!" I was puzzled by her response and contemplated waking her when she said, even louder, "Get away from me! You can't make me battle any more! I... I'll fight you if you get any closer. I don't care if you're my trainer, I'll do it!"

The last line hit me hard. _She might be talking about her previous trainer. That would explain the lies earlier. However, whether this is a bad dream or a bad memory, I can't let her experience it._ I started to move my hand towards her shoulder to wake her up when she suddenly sprung up from beside me. Swatting me with her plaster laden arm on the way up, I was thrown off the bed and into the wall right by the window. She was standing atop my bed, hands on her head, whipping around dangerously. With a face filled with pain, she kept half-murmuring, half yelling no. With increasing fervor and intensity she shook around faster and faster. I sat there in disbelief, paralyzed by fear and unable to do anything.

She crumpled in on herself a bit before resounding a defiant "NO". At that last no, her back burners activated and blasted a plume of burning fire. She opened her maw, bathing the room in a torrent of fire, but thankfully missing me. The fire eventually stopped and she crumpled down on to the singed bed.

As I slowly recovered from the shocking display, I got up off the ground. Looking over at Amber's form, I could see the intermittent spasms of emotion still flowing through her. I could hear a gentle sobbing coming from her.

_Get up. _I told my body.

_Get up and help her!_ But my limbs wouldn't move.

_Get up and comfort her! _But I couldn't budge.

_GET UP AND HELP YOUR FRIEND!_ My mind screamed at me as I pushed through the shock and fear. I got up and, thanks to the linoleum floors and flame-retardant furnishings, didn't have to avoid any more fire. I got close to Amber when a nurse ran up to the door. I motioned for her to go away and she got the picture.

I returned to Amber and hesitated for a second. I pushed through and placed my hand on her shoulder. She immediately looked up at me. Tears spilling from her eyes, she just stared at me for a few seconds. Before she could say anything, I pulled her into a deep embrace. We stayed that way for nearly a minute, me slowly patting her back to settle her down.

I pulled her away from me slowly. "That fire wasn't caused by some burning oil, was it." I said calmly. Her soft whimpers were all I needed as confirmation. "I think its time to talk Amber. And I want the truth this time." I said, situating us at the side of my bed.

She began, "I... I caused it. But you have to know that it was a complete accident. See, my master... my owner... was an intense pokemon trainer. He always had me training to become better. If I didn't become better, he'd beat me or make me train against much more talented pokemon." She explained. Amber paused for a while, seemingly composing her thoughts before starting again. "Recently I had evolved and he was so happy with it that he decided to challenge Whitney's Gym. We made it through her first few pokemon and got to her infamous Miltank. I had taken a few hits, but was mostly fine. But when the miltank let loose its rollout, I was knocked out in one hit. When I woke up, I was in my owner's apartment... one of the apartments that got burned down later. He scolded me and hit me for not winning. I didn't lift a finger to him in fear of how he'd retaliate. Finally, he hit me in the cheek and floored me. I heard him walk into the kitchen and when I saw him return, he had a knife. He suddenly came at me with a murderous look in his eyes and said I needed to learn how to be tougher. I backed away from him and tried to simply deflect the knife, but he kept cutting me ever so slightly. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and... and... and... I..." She seemed to pause for a second, trembling and quivering before continuing, "I just... popped. I shot the strongest blast burn of my life into his chest and ran out of the room. The move sapped so much of my strength that I passed out down the hall. I guess that blast burn also lit the apartment block on fire as well..." With the end of her story, she broke into tears again, burying her face into the charred remains of my pillow.

I gently stroked her head, softly saying, "Hey, hey, hey... It's not your fault. You were only defending yourself."

She looked up at me, her eyes glistening with tears. "Yeah? I just mean, I couldn't take his abuse anymore and, even though that blast burn could have killed me as well, I just didn't care anymore." She said, looking down between her legs. "No one had ever been nice to me, my life was a living hell. I honestly wished I was dead."

I sat quietly, thinking for a second before responding. "Well I for one am glad you aren't. You have so much energy and happiness within you Amber. It would be a shame for such a great pokemon to be gone from this world." I said, giving her a one-armed shoulder hug.

She looked at my eyes and I looked back at hers for a few seconds before she lent forward and gently kissed me on the cheek.

She pulled back and looked at me with much drier eyes and a smile on her face. "Thank you Connor. No one has ever been so nice to me and I doubt anyone will ever even come close. But I don't know if I can face the world again." She said looking down.

I lifted her chin up and explained. "Listen to me Amber, I know life can seem grim at times and you might just want to give up. Evil people will exist to make your life as hard as possible. But you have to see the silver lining, you have to find the good in the world, and you have to embrace it or else you'll be consumed by the darkness. I'll be your lantern Amber. Come with me and I'll never let you go." As soon as I finished, her smile widened and she wrapped her arms around me in a deep hug. I slipped mine around her back and we sat embraced for what seemed like hours, just enjoying each other's company.

* * *

JJ: *pants* ...Phew! Wasn't that a ride huh? I hope you all enjoyed my first fanfic!

Amber: *slips in* BOO!

JJ: *falls* ow….

Amber: Haha! That's what you get! Make sure to review this sad sack's "story" and give some feedback… Arceus knows he could use it

JJ: Hey! I'm a much better writer than you are flame butt

Amber: Oh you! I'm gonna mega punch the crap outa you if you don't stop.

JJ: Alright Inferno Trousers! Until next time, see ya! *Sprints away*

Amber: YOU GET BACK HERE AND GIVE THESE PEOPLE MORE LITERATURE! *runs after JJ*


End file.
